Arthur E. Broadus, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Internal Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Physiology Department of Internal Medicine 333 Cedar Street P.O. Box 208020 New Haven, CT 06520-8020 USA Email: arthur.broadus@yale.edu Telephone: (203) 785-3966 Fax: (203)737-4360

Dr. Broadus specializes in disorders of mineral metabolism. He is a member of the Yale Bone Center and of the Endocrine Society, American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, and American Society for Clinical Investigation. He is the Ensign Professor of Medicine at Yale.

Office Address:

Box 208020 (333 Cedar Street; Fitkin 1)
New Haven, CT 06520-8020

Research:

The parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) was initially discovered as the tumor product that is responsible for the hypercalcemia that complicates many types of cancer. It subsequently became clear that the PTHrP gene is a member of a small gene family that includes parathyroid hormone (PTH), but the functions of PTH and PTHrP are remarkably different. The PTHrP gene turns out to be widely expressed in both adult and fetal tissues, as is its receptor, and all evidence to date indicates that PTHrP functions in an autocrine/paracrine fashion. In the adult, functions include the regulation of placental calcium transport, the regulation of smooth muscle tone in accommodative smooth muscle structures such as the uterus, and participating in the regeneration of peripheral nerves. In the fetus as well as in postnatal development, PTHrP serves as a developmental regulatory molecule. Recent experiments in gene-targeted and transgenic mice clearly reveal that PTHrP controls the differentiation of mammary epithelium, the development of endochondral bone, and the eruption of teeth. Most recently, we have found PTHrP in the insertion sites of tendons and ligaments into cortical bone (in which PTHrP may mediate the bone formation that tethers these insertions to bone) and in articular cartilage (in which, conversely, PTHrP may prevent ossification).

1. Chen X, CM Macica, BE Dreyer, VE Hammond, JR Hens, WM Philbrick, AE Broadus. Initial characterization of PTH-related protein gene-driven lacZ in the mouse. J Bone Mineral Research, 21: 113-123, 2006.
2. Macica C, G Liang, K Lankford, AE Broadus. Induction of parathyroid hormone-related peptide following peripheral nerve injury: role as a modulator of Schwann cell phenotype. Glia, in press, 2006.

A list of Dr. Broadus' publications is available via COS.